The Temple of Garni is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union. Built in the Ionic order in the village of Garni, Armenia, it is the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia.

Here, 2,700 kilometers from Rome and 1,800 kilometers from Athens in a remote corner of the South Caucasus, sits an unmistakably Hellenic temple of colossal proportions – the only remaining standing structure of its kind in the former Soviet Union.

We were left fascinated by its geometrically impeccable colonnade, reminiscent of the masterpieces in Athenian Acropolis. Beneath it were double-height stairs wrapped around the entire foundation, and above it, triangular pediments rested on its capitals. Pedestals displaying carvings of Atlas, the Greek sky-bearing Titan, are flanking the entrance. Many wonder how did a Greco-Roman architectural masterpiece end up in Armenia, and what was its purpose?

The leading theory is that the temple was erected in 77 AD during the reign of Tiridates I, who, 11 years prior, had been crowned by the Roman emperor Nero. The story goes that as a token of goodwill, Nero sent the Armenian monarch back east with a cadre of Roman craftsman and a generous sum of money, resources that were used to build the fortified city of Garni and its central temple, a shrine to the ancient Armenian sun god Mihr. However, there are many other guesses.

If everyone can agree on one thing, it is that Garni Temple is pre-Christian, making its existence today somewhat miraculous. Because when Armenia adopted Christianity as its national religion in the 4th century – one of the first nations in the world to officially do so – King Tiridates III’s regime razed virtually all of the pagan temples. It remains a mystery why the temple at Garni survived.